Saturday, October 1, 2011

Breast Cancer Awareness blog hop - October 1

Welcome to the Breast Cancer Awareness Blog Hop. The purposes of this Hop are to, first, encourage early diagnosis. You could be the One in Eight women who has breast cancer this year. Have you had your mammogram? With early diagnosis, breast cancer can be beaten!

Second, please invite your family and friends to see the projects we've made to offer hope and support.

Each of us has been touched by breast cancer, whether we have had a friend or relative with the disease, or whether we have journeyed the Pink Road ourselves.

My friends Linda and Marjie are both currently on the difficult road of treatments for breast cancer. Each is in a different stage of cancer treatments, and neither is on an easier journey.

Linda, pictured with her hubby Rob, began wicked chemo treatments just 25 days ago. Linda's spirit is amazing, she is joyful, positive and inspirational. I met Linda through her hubby Rob. Five years ago, Rob came to a garage sale I was hosting and bought a book. We got to talking, and I told him I was selling my stuff because I was cleaning to get ready to move. Turns out Rob and Linda work as a Realtor team, and Linda was my fantastic selling agent for my home. It's all about relationships, and Linda is a Queen!!

Marjie, pictured with her fiancee my friend Sean, continues her remarkable Pink Journey with her final surgery -- breast reconstruction -- on October 27. Right now, she is enduring the pain of chest/skin expanders to accommodate the implants that will make her whole again. She wants to look and feel her very best when she walks down the aisle to marry Sean in just a few months. If you do nothing else today, please visit Marjie's blog, Pink and Pearls, which describes her journey of coping with breast cancer while planning her wedding. Please leave her some ♥ LOVE ♥

This is the card I made for Linda, as part of this Hop. I made a frame from chipboard, covered it with pink (of course!) ... and before I mounted it to a white card, I sandwiched some ribbon between the frame and the card. A pretty metal embellishment ("faith") sends the message of hope. The butterfly is a pre-made, purchased embellishment that I adorned with a Stickles body.

Today, I will mail the card to Linda, with my love and support. If you know of someone who is in this fight for her life, remember her today ... with a hug, a card, a telephone call, some flowers, a home cooked meal, whatever you think will bring her joy.

And remember out there:

OK, on to our Blog Hop! But wait, there's a prize!! That's right, BLOG CANDY!! For one lucky person who is a CardMonkey Follower and leaves a comment on this post, I will make and send a beautiful, custom crystal bracelet similar to this one, ooh-la-la:

So don't forget to follow (see link in the right hand column) ... leave a comment that includes a way for me to contact you when you win.

WAIT, before you go!! Don't forget that Dee at Vintage Heartfelt Designs (our Hop Hostess) has some super-prizes on her blog. These include:

A bag of goodies you can use to scrap, and a $15.00 gift certificate

Sponsor Jillian Vance is offering a set of her stamps!

Sponsor Designs on Cloud Nine has provided a $20 gift certificate to use on her site.

Sponsor Crafty Card Gallery has provided a $10 gift certificate to either Amazon.com or OhMyCrafts!

To qualify for our Hostess's grand prizes, you need to leave a comment at every blog hop stop and become a member/follow each one too (and mention that in your comment). Dee would love it if, after you're done the Hop, you would stop back to her at the beginning at http://vintageheartfeltdesigns.blogspot.com and let her know what project you like the most. If you need the full list of blog stops, hop on over to Dee's blog!

Love your projects and love the stories of those fighting which make the hops so much more personal. Cancer can be a scary thing but attitude is so important. Thanks for sharing the photos of your smiling friends.

Hey Ellen, Your friends are so lucky to have such a supportive friend. I am positive that Linda is going to love this card, it is beautiful. I think that anything with a butterfly on it can bring a smile to any ones face. I will put Linda and Marjie in my prayers. Karen♥karenskrafts1@aol.com

Ellen I love your card. Thank you so much for sharing your story with us and participating in this wonderful event for so many that have either had, have or has a person in their life with cancer of any kind. I am a follower and thank you for sharing with us and have a great weekend. Hugs, Dee:)

Hello sweet friend! I sure hope 13 is my lucky number because I really want that beautiful bracelet! Love it! On to other things... I will be praying for your friends. It is so scary, I cannot imagine the strength it takes to go through with all of the chemo and then reconstructive surgery! OMGosh! My mom never did have reconstructive surgery because it cost too much and she couldn't afford it. It's something that's always broken my heart a bit. TFS their stories and for the chance to win. I love getting the nice comments you always leave for me. Thank you so much! They mean a lot to me. :0)

Be sure to stop by my blog to enter my 500 followers giveaway and stop by my blog for current hops I'm in and a chance to win even more blog candy!

Ellen,Your blog is beautiful! Thank you SO much for reading mine and for going on this "Pink Journey" with me! :) I can't tell you how much it means to me that you'd feature my blog. What an honor! Your comments have been so beautiful and moving. I want to thank you so much for your support and encouragement. It just proves to me, time and time again, what wonderful, amazing people I have in my life. Thank you for being such a blessing to me! Keep blogging away! Much love, Marjie

I do like the butterflies that you can putt in your card ,but you want to use the small white pearls on the butterflies wings that's looks more shinning and beautiful.....Plastic Card PrintingPlastic card